Below Her Balcony
by nooneimportant2
Summary: Sometimes even the most 'meant to be' couples fight for one reason or another, but in the end you've got to ask just what is it you're fighting over...  My first Advanceshipping Oneshot, rated for safety. Hopefully the summary actually made some sense...


**Disclaimer:** I am not affiliated with Pokemon in any way, shape, or form. If I did, Advanceshipping and anything supporting it would be canon.

**A/N:** Well…I never thought I'd write another story again after how horrible my old fanfictions turned out due to my tendency to get a bit overexcited and make things incoherent and confusing.

But after reading and reviewing some Advanceshipping fanfictions, since I'm an old fan of it, and even getting some encouragement from other authors, I thought I'd at least try again. Besides, I might actually get better at this later and when I post other ideas later, they may turn out pretty good!

This one is loosely inspired by the song "The man who can't be moved" by The Script. Yes, there are other fanfictions based off of that song (I actually read one and liked it :D) but hey, I liked that song. This isn't a songfic though since I don't think I could pull that off and it's its own story. You'll see what I mean.

Oh and a bit of a warning: It's been a few years since I saw the AG episodes so I apologize in advance for any OOC'ness. Either way though I somewhat need the characters to act a bit like this for the story.

Ages:  
>Ash and May are 20<br>Drew is 21

* * *

><p><span>Below her Balcony<span>

"JUST GET OUT DAMMIT!"

People in the hallway turned their heads to a certain apartment door while people on the streets turned their heads to a certain apartment balcony. All were taken off-guard by the sudden shout. Up until now there had been virtually no aggression coming from that apartment and people who walked by it were fully aware of it. It had been relatively quiet and peaceful up until now. But the sudden outburst almost scared everyone to death and they all wondered just what made one of the peaceful tenants so furious.

Behind the door was a rather clean apartment. It wasn't filled to the brim with junk, but it wasn't empty either. The objects in the room weren't of concern for now though. Instead what one would notice if they checked right now was the woman standing on the balcony.

The balcony itself faced out towards the street, one that wasn't too busy around midday but still held some life in it. Those people that happened to be out for a stroll or an errand held the same expression as those in the apartment building's hall. Though, having clearer views than those inside, their own gazes held hints of interest and not quite those of fear. The balcony area was rather clean; two chairs seated near the railings, beside the woman at this point, a plant in the corner and a makeshift clothesline near the other.

Standing on the balcony was a woman who looked to be about twenty. Her hair was brown and short, reaching just the top of her shoulders. She was dressed rather plainly that day in a white, short sleeved blouse over a black T-shirt and a black mini-skirt. She also had a white bandana on top of her head with a pink Poke-ball symbol atop it. She stood in white socks; heaven knew where her shoes were.

However, it was harder to tell her eye color for those who didn't already know. Their normal sapphire blue color was barely visible due to the redness of her eyes from the steady flow of tears.

She grabbed something from beside her, throwing it over the railings down at the rather distressed man below. He in turn had very little time to dodge it, but it was apparent he had gotten better at the whole concept; it must have all been going on for a while now.

Unlike the woman, his hair was black rather than brown, was a bit shorter and was more spiked and messy. He was also dressed rather simply. He wore a short-sleeved jacket that was white on the bottom but was blue on the top and on the sleeves along with gray pants and predominantly red sneakers. Sitting on his head was a red and white cap with a blue Poke-ball symbol. Perched on his shoulder was a rather large yellow-orange mouse with a long tail with the end shaped like a lightning bolt.

The argument appeared one-sided, for the man did not yell back at the woman with anger in his voice. No, it was actually more like pleading if anything else. His auburn eyes looked at her specifically and never left their target.

"C'mon May, this is insane!," he called out to the woman

May shook her head, not wanting to hear it at all. She grabbed something else near her, not caring what it was, and threw it at him hitting him in the head. Fortunately for him, it was something soft and didn't hurt him, although it forced him to take a step back.

"Go to hell Ash!," she snapped in response

Ash just stepped forward again and stood his ground. Despite his expression and tone of voice, he was determined.

"I'm not going anywhere May! Not until you let me back in!," Ash called up still in that gentle, pleading voice

Once again, something went flying, but it hit a car close by, setting off its alarm and drowning out whatever else she had to shout as a follow up. But Ash kept his word and didn't even flinch. He just continued to look up at May on the second floor.

"May! You love me and you know it! Just stop this!," Ash called out again

All he received was something else thrown at him, which he simply let hit him in the chest. There was nothing too hard as May had at least been kind enough to leave out the cutlery from the kitchen. In truth, he might have had to rethink his position if she had done so.

"Come on! I'll bark if you want me to!" He cupped his hands around his mouth, raising his head and letting out a rather convincing howl. The whole thing was gathering more and more of an audience as it went by. The man's determination was something all right.

"Rai Raichu Rai (Did you really just do that?)," the mouse standing on his shoulder asked

"Yeah, I did Raichu," Ash answered back, "And I know you did the same thing with Glaceon about 3 month ago when you evolved during me and May's tag battle against Cynthia and Lance," he added accusingly, "Don't pretend you weren't like how I am now back then"

"Raichu…(Fine, you got me there…)," Raichu sighed defeated, "Rai rai! Rai raichu! Rai chu chu!(But I had no clue that Thunderstone I touched all those years ago would finally push me to evolve now! I took a hit on my dignity! Don't do the same thing I did!)"

"I'll be fine," replied Ash, "Besides; I honestly don't give a damn if people think it's weird. The press can pick me clean like vultures if they wish and the fans can laugh all they want. I don't care"

The crowd was awed by Ash's determination and some who got a closer look were able to recognize him now. Ash Ketchum, the world's Pokemon Champion. The man who won the Unova League on his first try and then every other league on his second try before defeating each region's Elite Four and their champions. If this was him, that meant the woman had to be May Maple, the Master Coordinator who won each contest region's Grand Festivals and stood beside him again each region's Elite Four. But why were they fighting now? That was something everyone in that crowd wanted to know.

May grunted angrily and walked back into the apartment. He waited, expecting her to come back with more things to throw at him. But to his dismay, she didn't return. She must have gotten too frustrated to continue on with what she was doing, and had simply chosen to ignore him.

He took a step closer to the building wall, still continuing to look up. He breathed in heavily, feeling his own heart beginning to break. He wasn't going to give up, not on her. Not when he knew she still cared. He wasn't in denial, or being obsessive like some others he knew. He just read her signs, her body language – The lack of knives and things that could kill him. She must have forgotten how much he knew about her, even more than her own family.

Inside the apartment, May just slumped down on the couch trying to ignore Ash's shouts. She wondered why he was still trying, why he still seemed to want to hang onto her. She just turned on the TV in an attempt to drown him out although her mind was still on him.

"What did we fight over anyway?," May mumbled absent-mindedly

She couldn't even remember. All she knew was that she was angry, and she wanted him out. She shook off all thoughts that she might be confusing fear with anger.

Outside, Ash slowly walked around picking up every single object that had been thrown at him and putting them in his pack, Raichu helping. He knew he was going to be here a while so he needed something to occupy him for the moment. Besides, he was pretty sure that May would appreciate getting back everything she'd thrown at him once she relented, at least everything that was still in one piece.

By the time he'd picked up everything, he slumped down in the gutter and crossed his arms over his legs. He would wait forever for her, and wait he would. He had no reason to go anywhere else, certainly not for a while. Even if he did, he would still wait. This definitely meant more to him than some random battle with a challenger.

Both parties continued their separate waiting in their varied environments. May was waiting for him to leave; Ash was waiting for her to come back out. It seemed like some sort of weird cycle. The sun was beginning to fall and soon, it would be dark.

Ash idly watched a group of ants crawling across the ground. There was not much going on, as he had very little interest in the people around him, besides, the crowd had already dispersed long ago. Meanwhile, Raichu had managed to climb up to the balcony to chat with Glaceon, both of whom were worried for their trainers.

"What do we do?," Glaceon moaned, "This is just like us months ago except even worse!"

"I don't know," sighed Raichu sadly, "I really don't know"

While Ash watched, the ants just went on their way, though he did take particular notice of a certain ant pick up another injured looking one, carrying it off.

He couldn't help but be reminded of back when he'd traveled with everyone. No one left behind. Didn't he apply that principle to himself and his friends long ago no matter who they were? Didn't he even drill those into some of his friends' and his girlfriend's heads? It would've been odd if he didn't.

He then thought about how it'd been applied to the two of them. How many times they'd saved each other be it from the dangers they encountered during their adventures, or on more social and emotional levels. When he lost a battle, she'd always be the first to go make sure he didn't drown in his own tears while he'd be the first to do likewise whenever she lost a contest.

"Normally I'd just tell you to get over it and say that you'd be better off without her…," said a voice snapping Ash from his reverie, "But I guess that it doesn't apply to you now does it? Not after all that you've been through"

Ash looked up and stared at the green hair, the purple jacket, and the mocking smirk to see both his friend and rival

"Hey Drew," Ash sighed. It wasn't like he hated the guy; it was just that he wasn't quite in the mood, "What's up?"

"Oh nothing, it's just I saw what happened over there," said Drew taking a seat next to Ash, "If you don't mind me asking, what was that about?"

"We got into a fight and she kicked me out. Now I'm just waiting here for her to come back out," answered Ash

"And how long are you willing to wait out here?," asked Drew

"Hmm, a few hours, maybe days, weeks, months, doesn't matter," answered Ash in a matter-of-fact tone, "I'll wait here as long as I need to"

He meant it. As stated, he would have waited forever for the woman.

Drew chuckled a bit at that notion

"I never thought I'd see the day where you turned into Brock," Drew said while continuing to laugh

Even though Drew and Brock weren't necessarily closest of friends, Drew was still pretty aware of Brock's hopeless romantic situations he always got himself into while he travelled with Ash.

"Well unlike him though, I'm not pursuing something totally hopeless," said Ash, "She isn't out of love with me yet, I can tell, and I'm not out of love with her either"

"Oh? How do you know that?," asked Drew

"Because I know her," answered Ash, "I know that she doesn't hate me. She's just scared"

Drew nodded and looked up at Raichu and Glaceon still chatting nervously on the apartment balcony.

"Alright, I won't ask how you came to that conclusion," started Drew, "but I will ask where are you going with this?"

"Like I said, I love her and I'm staying here," answered Ash

"Well, I can tell you that this isn't going to work and you're doing it all wrong," informed Drew, "I know you probably aren't trying to do this to her, but you probably just look like you're clinging onto her like you're obsessed or desperate or something"

"What?," asked Ash. That wasn't how he really felt but he never considered how she might take it, "Then…what _should _I do?"

"Well, if she truly still loves you and she's just mad or whatever, then I suggest you switch tactics," continued Drew

"Switch tactics?," asked Ash

Drew nodded and nodded his head towards the balcony

"You can stay here all you want. True, her love might prevail and she might finally relent and let you in," explained Drew, "But there's a chance her anger will stick and she might just keep ignoring you. I don't know her as well as you do, but I'm pretty sure she'll probably keep the ignoring thing going for a while before she relents"

"Well, what else do I do then?," asked Ash sighing

Ash didn't really like taking love advice from one of his old rivals but he'd learned long ago that being stubborn didn't get you very far so he learned to listen what others had to say"

"You want to show that you still love her and you're trying to bring out her compassion right?," asked Drew to which Ash just nodded, "Well, time to change your method. No offense, but sitting around here makes you look like you're just some creep who's desperate to be with her. I know that you aren't like that so I suggest you try something else"

"Well, what do you suggest?," asked Ash genuinely interested

"Ah, that wouldn't help you now would it?," chuckled Drew as he stood back up and casually flipped his hair, "All I can do is tell you to figure out some way to do it. How you do it is up to you. If I told you, that'd ruin the purpose of you trying to show your compassion in the first place"

Ash thought about it for a moment. He didn't like to admit it but Drew was right in that sense. A thought crossed his mind and he just hoped that it was appealing.

"Hey Drew?," Ash called as Drew started to walk away

Drew stopped and turned his head a bit but didn't answer

"We haven't exactly seen eye to eye on everything…but thanks," said Ash

Drew smirked and nodded in acknowledgement

"Well, if you really want to thank me, then get to it," said Drew as he continued walking, "I'd much rather face May with a clear head at the next contest than when she's all crying and depressed"

Ash stood up and was about to head off himself when Drew called back

"Good luck," Drew called over his shoulder while Ash grinned

"Hey Raichu, you mind?," asked Ash

Raichu hopped down and landed perfectly on Ash's shoulder

"Raichu rai rai? (What are you thinking Ash?)"

"I was actually going to ask you to stay up there and wait," answered Ash, "There's something I gotta do and I'd rather go it solo this time…"

"Rai! (No!)," exclaimed Raichu, "Rai raichu rai rai! (You were with me when I finally faced Glaceon, I'm not leaving you when you're in the same spot I just was!)

"I knew you were going to say that, just wanted to make sure," Ash chuckled as he walked off, "Alright, I guess we're both in it together eh?"

* * *

><p>May noticed Glaceon slowly make her way back inside. Slowly, May walked over to the balcony herself. It had been such a long time, had he finally left yet? Cautiously, she crept over to the railing and took a look.<p>

She should've been happy, Ash finally left. Probably back to his mom's house. I mean where else could he go since they'd gotten the apartment together?

It'd been pretty problematic and there'd been a pretty big fuss about it but he'd finally left. Ash was gone.

She turned away from the balcony, walking back to sit on the couch. She knew too well why, but would not admit her reasons for the actions that followed. She bit her bottom lip in a vain attempt to stop the sobbing sounds that escaped her throat, and covered her eyes with her hands as she sat down on the couch.

She fought, but in the end she had to let herself cry, and cry hard she did. Never before had any action hurt her this much. She thought her heart was being torn, physically.

"He's gone, he's actually gone…" She could only whimper through the sobs, knowing she should be happy, "… He's left me… God…"

Glaceon climbed up and attempted to help wipe away some of the tears. May just hugged Glaceon tightly, although not enough to make her suffocate. She couldn't help it. She didn't know what to do.

After a few minutes, May finally stood up from the couch and rubbed her eyes trying to get rid of the burning feeling. She looked out at the balcony, the glass door still open, and frowned when she saw the dark clouds outside start to gather and rain start to bucket down.

May stalked over to the balcony remembering that she'd left some laundry out to dry and that it'd just get wetter if she left it out in the rain now and didn't retrieve it. She grumbled as she pulled the clothes off the line although she whimpered when she grabbed a shirt too large for her. She bit her bottom lip and by some instinct looked over the balcony again.

May froze however when she spotted those auburn eyes stare back at her despite blinking away the rain.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came, and she only managed to stand in response to the sight. Standing there was none other than Ash, having returned from where he had gone. He looked absolutely drenched; making it obvious he had been caught in the downpour since the beginning.

This time though, he stood there holding something in his arms.

May stormed back into the apartment throwing the dampened clothes onto the couch. She marched over to her door, violently grabbing her keys from the rack next to the door. Then she unlocked the door clumsily before running over to the stairs, practically throwing herself down.

The door of the building opened with a loud 'SLAM', having been basically kicked open with that much force it was a surprise it was still on its hinges at all. Ash didn't even flinch, neither when the door opened, nor when he saw the enraged woman storm her way towards him.

"You might want to get out while you can buddy," Ash whispered to Raichu who scrambled off of Ash's shoulder and climbed back up through the still open door to the apartment balcony

May continued her violent walk, coming up close to the man before giving him a hard slap on his cheek, panting quite heavily from the effort of getting down there.

"What the hell are you doing down here?" She snapped, her words separated by her gasps for air. Her fists were clenched, and eyes narrowed at the innocent seeming man, "You're going to get yourself killed in this kind of weather!"

No sooner had she stated such words had he calmly placed what he was holding into her hands. She growled lowly, wanting absolutely nothing to do with whatever it was, but soon took notice of his hands. They appeared to have been bandaged up with a roll of such that she'd thrown at him earlier that day, and just the smallest speckles of red were seen at the surface of the material.

She paused, her expression changing to a more of a surprised look. She actually took the time to take a glance at what she herself was now holding, nearly taken aback by it. Her hands clenched around the crunchy color paper, swallowing hard when her eyes met with the roses presented with her.

Suddenly the equation made sense. He had left earlier, simply as a change of tactics. He had gone to the park, not too far from the building, and handpicked a bunch of the roses that happened to be there. It explained the bandages; he must have gotten pricked more times than she could count from doing something like that for her.

"I just wanted to get you these," he said calmly

She looked up at him. How pathetic he must have looked. He was soaked, the water having made both his jacket and pants feel and look incredibly uncomfortable. His usual spiked hair slipped over his eyes, robbing him of most of his vision. But he still stood with that same determination as he had all those hours ago.

"Why…," she finally asked

"Back then they always seemed to cheer you up when he gave them to you," answered Ash, "These probably aren't as pretty as his but I still worked hard to get them"

May took a step forward, cautiously, letting the flowers rest by her side. She quietly mumbled his name, before swiftly closing the distance and wrapping her arms around him. Ash could feel the bouquet again his back, and May's other hand grip his jacket tightly.

Ash managed to put his own arms around her, stroking her hair lightly which was made far easier with the rain that was beginning to cling to her as well. He knew more than enough that this was her version of 'I'm sorry and I love you'. It was harder for her to say those words than him, so he accepted it as it was.

"It's alright May," he assured her barely able to distinguish the tears and the rain "It's alright. I know you just act tough, I know why you went ahead and chased me away"

May hugged Ash tighter and looked him in the eyes.

"How…how did this happen," she managed to choke out between sobs

"You were afraid that I would leave you," Ash answered, "After we started going out, I promised you that I wouldn't leave you unless you left me"

"... Then why didn't you?" she asked quietly, just able to be heard over the rain.

"Because your heart didn't leave and I knew it," Ash said simply

He could both hear and feel her cry harder, unsure of whether she did so out of happiness that he loved her that much, or out of sadness and fear for the same reason.

"I'm sorry," she choked out

"It's alright," he assured her again, "Just give it some time and you'll completely forget it"

Finally May lead Ash back into their apartment where they changed into warmer, dryer clothes before they headed off to sleep while Raichu and Glaceon peeked in from the doorway although Ash quickly transferred something between his pants' pockets.

"Hey May?," asked Ash when they headed to bed and finished changing

"Yeah?," asked May as she sat by him

Ash knelt down in front of May and pulled out a small black box from his pocket

"May…We've been together for a long time now, and in that time, we've been through a lot. Today was just one of the many things we got through together. I always knew how much you meant to me but today's events finally spurred me into action so I decided to ask you this tonight. I love you with all my heart so May Maple…," Ash opened the box to reveal a ring studded with a single large Sapphire colored Diamond and 6 smaller Diamonds surrounding it in a flower pattern, "Will you marry me?"

May gasped in shock and pleasure. However, the guilt of today's earlier events still haunted her mind

"R-really Ash? You mean after how I treated you today you still want to marry me?," she asked

"May, it wasn't your fault, you were just scared and things still worked out," replied Ash, "No matter what comes between us, I'll never stop loving you. So…what's your answer?"

May didn't directly answer. Instead, she threw her arms around Ash's shoulders, brought her face to his, and gave him a deep, deep passionate kiss which he gladly returned.

They'd kissed many times before and maybe some of them were definitely better than others but they all paled in comparison to this one. After a full day of inner turmoil, she was completely reassured that the man she'd loved for so long without any comparison really did love her as much as she did and that he wasn't leaving her ever.

As they kissed, May helped Ash slip the ring onto her finger. When they finally parted a few minutes later, May looked at him. Tears streaked down her eyes but these weren't of grief like they were earlier, instead they were tears of joy.

"If that's truly how you feel then yes, I'd be more than happy to call you my husband!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Well, there we go. It's probably terrible but I still hope that you guys enjoyed it. I can't say that I was ever a very good writer myself so it probably won't be the greatest thing you've ever read but hey, you can only improve right?

Anyway, some may be thinking "Drew pushing Advanceshipping? What?" And well, I'll admit that while I hate Contestshipping and sometimes I read Drew-bashing fics just for fun, I kinda felt bad for the poor guy being bashed around so much so I tried to make him non-antagonistic in here.

If you can, please leave a review, I'd like to know what you guys think. Leave some constructive criticism, be nitpicky about my spelling/grammar/punctuation, or just leave a comment, whatever. Heck, if you hated it so bad then bring on the flames so long as you explain why you hate it, I'll still check it out and try to improve my writing. Just don't bash Advanceshipping or anything related to it, I mean if you hate AshxMay so bad then why bother reading it? It just doesn't make sense.


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